The first game of the first-round matchup between the No. 3 Boston Celtics and the No. 6 Philadelphia 76ers is in the books. Both teams hope to start their playoff push with a victory, but in the end it was the Celtics who went away with a 109-101 victory and took an early 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Jayson Tatum led the way for the Celtics with 32 points and 13 rebounds, while Jaylen Brown added 29 points from his. Joel Embiid grabs the Sixers with 26 points and 16 rebounds.
These two teams are no strangers when it comes to meeting in the postseason. In fact, the Sixers and Celtics have met more times in the playoffs than any other two teams in NBA history. Most recently, the Celtics beat the Sixers in five games in the semifinals of the Eastern Conference. In the regular season, the Sixers beat the Celtics in three of the four meetings. However, they had All-Star ahead of Ben Simmons for all those games, and that’s not the case in this series, as we saw last night, so Brett Brown will have to figure out how to move forward now that Simmons to the side along is knee surgery.
Below you can find four key takeaways from Boston’s Game 1 win over Philadelphia:
1. Tatum and Brown make some history of Celtics
The 76ers had no answer for All-Star forward Jayson Tatum all night. Tatum set his career high for postseason with 32 points and 13 rebounds, and in turn became the youngest player in Celtics history to compile a 30 and 10 stat line in a playoff game. Tatum was a +19 in the prize draw and he kept coming with big bucket to big bucket for Boston. However, Tatum did not drop the Sixers on his own, as he received a fair share of help from Jaylen Brown, who added 29 rebounds, six rebounds, and four assists. Together, Tatum and Brown became the first pair of Celtics teammates, both 23 or younger, to both score 25 or more points in the same playoff game. Not a bad night for Boston’s talented young strikers.
2. Celtics won the overtime
This game was very close, and in the end, conversions may have made all the difference. While the Celtics did a solid job of taking care of the ball, the Sixers did not, and it cost them big time. The Sixers turned the ball 18 times, and those 18 rounds led directly to 21 points for Boston. The Celtics, on the other hand, turned the ball over only seven times, leaving the Sixers with just seven total points from turnovers. That 14-point difference in points from conversions between the two teams is greater than the outcome of the match. Going forward, the Sixers will have to take much better care of the ball if they want to give themselves a chance in the series.
3. Embiid needs more touch
Embiid started Game 1 by scoring his first five field goals in the first quarter. It was a very promising start for Philadelphia. For the rest of the game, Embiid only attempted 10 total shots, as the Sixers struggled to get him the ball in the post in the line of play. Simply put, as the Sixers’ best player, Embiid needs more appearances – and more shot attempts – than the Sixers will have a chance at in the series. The Celtics do not have someone who can match Embiid individually, and the Sixers should use that fact as often as possible. The only silver lining here is that Embiid went 9-of-2 from the foul line; a testament to the fact that he played aggressively.
After the game, Embiid media members told that 15 shot attempts are not enough for him, and he said he should be more assertive and require the ball more forward.
4. Shake Milton was solid in his first performances after the season
We’ve all heard the trope that postseason NBA basketball is very different from regular season NBA basketball, and that is in different ways. Postseason play has the most physical, intense and intellectual than regular season ball. As such, it often takes young players a little while to get used to the playoffs. Shake Milton handled his first playoff game pretty well, however, as in 26 minutes, Milton had 13 points and three assists while shooting 5-of-7 from the field, and 3-of-5 from long range. The figures are not eye-catching, but they are solid, and the Sixers will need more production than that of Milton ahead.
